We need to speak out on health care
If you want to understand the role of insurance companies in our nation's health care melodrama, think of them as pimps. And like true pimps, they use lies, pay-offs and hired political muscle to guarantee their 30 percent cut of our health care dollars.

Charters should be subject to same rules
Since the 1920s, the International Pacific Halibut Commission has been managing halibut stocks for one purpose: sustainability. The commercial halibut fishery has become the model for the entire world.

Where's Sarah?
Just one final snub for Juneau from our former governor. She held farewell picnics in Wasilla, Fairbanks and Anchorage. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Juneau still the capital city? I would think this would have been one of the choices for a picnic. I was wondering, who paid for all of these farewell affairs?

Juneau passed over by federal funds for police
Despite having several vacant positions, the Juneau Police Department did not qualify for any of the $5 million in federal stimulus money announced Tuesday to go to Alaska for police staffing.

Mariners help whales out of tangles
Capt. Greg Brown of the Weather Permitting went to NOAA's whale disentanglement training last year, but this 30-foot humpback calf swathed in line was the first real tangled whale he'd tried to help.

Photo: Foggy morning float
A float plane cruises down Gastineau Channel and under the Douglas Bridge early Tuesday morning due to a thick layer of fog. Despite cooler temperatures early in the week, the forecast for the next five days calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s.

Photo: JAMming
Local artist Amanda Neyenhouse knits Sunday morning behind her display of handmade items for sale at the Juneau Artists Market (JAM) outside the Juneau Arts & Culture Center. JAM at the JACC will operate 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays through Mondays until the end of August. Any artist or musician is welcome to show their goods. Contact the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council at 586-2787. "It's such a great thing," Neyenhouse said. "It's a great opportunity for local artists who aren't in stores or shops."

Photo: Shore duty
U.S. Coast Guard seaman Sarah Perez spends Sunday morning mowing the grass at Motor Lifeboat Station Juneau. Originally from Florida, Perez is one and a half years into herenlistment. "Aside from the weather, mowing grass is the same here as in Florida," Perez said.

Photo: Bicycle for two
Kent Cochell gives Hailey Noel a lift on his bicycle Tuesday along the North Douglas Highway.

Outside editorial: Exxon goes green
Exxon's often sharp-tongued skepticism about alternative fuel technologies would seem to make it an unlikely candidate to bankroll research designed to turn algae into fuel.

Outside editorial: Palin's siren song
Sarah Palin's valedictory address as governor of Alaska will (we hope) be little noted nor long remembered. But its denunciation of Hollywood and Washington insiders reflects a perennial obsession by some conservatives that mainstream politicians are too eager to indulge. As Republicans regroup after the disaster of 2008, they would be wise to resist this shrill siren song.

Outside editorial: Get moving on Gitmo
On the third day of his presidency, Barack Obama dramatically departed from the disastrous policies of the Bush administration by signing an order promising that the Guantanamo Bay detention center would be closed no later than Jan. 22, 2010. But procrastination from the White House is making it easier for congressional critics to frustrate a step vital to restoring American legitimacy.

Amazon incidents remind that big brother still looms
Last week, in a stunning display of public irony, Amazon.com remotely deleted digital copies of the George Orwell novels "1984" and "Animal Farm" from customers' Kindle devices after learning that the electronic publisher of these works, MobileReference, did not have the rights to them. For a couple days, observers in print and on the Web outdid themselves, noting that in "1984," government censors rewrite history by consigning offending news items to an incinerator chute known as the memory hole.

US, Canada Arctic mapping expedition to start Aug. 9
EDMONTON, Alberta - A joint U.S.-Canada expedition sailing next month to the icy waters off the northern coastline both countries share will help map the farthest reaches of the North American continent, but it won't deal with a long-running dispute over a resource-rich part of the Beaufort Sea.

Alaska has first swine flu-related fatality
ANCHORAGE - A Fairbanks woman with underlying medical conditions has died of complications of swine flu in Washington state - the first swine-flu related fatality of an Alaskan, state health officials said Monday.

Sitka eliminates Juneau West
KETCHIKAN - Sitka pulled off an improbable come-from-behind win in the finals of Major League District 2 Baseball Tournament, rallying from a five-run deficit in the final two innings to top Juneau West 7-6 to earn a berth in the state tournament.

Photo: Juneau's District 2 Junior champs host state tourney
The Juneau Junior All-Stars, the Alaska District 2 champions, are hosting the Dimond West Juniors, representing Alaska District 1, at 6 p.m. this Thursday at Adair-Kennedy Field in a best-of-three series with a berth in the Western Regional Tournament in Alisa Viejo, Calif., on the line. Juneau finished the tournament with a 4-0 record, defeating Ketchikan 10-0 in the championship game.

New governor meets with ministers, others
FAIRBANKS - Gov. Sean Parnell spent his first full day in office Monday meeting with locals in Fairbanks, including ministers, community leaders and the editorial board of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Two Palin allies stepping down
Two close allies of former Gov. Sarah Palin are leaving state employment. The aides, Frank Bailey, director of the Office of Boards and Commissions, and Kris Perry, director of the governor's Anchorage office, are on their way out, said Sharon Leighow, spokeswoman for Gov. Sean Parnell.

Parnell to focus on economy, families
ANCHORAGE - Gov. Sean Parnell said Tuesday he's not worried about defining his legacy as he fills in for his high-profile predecessor, Sarah Palin.

Pilots, divers recover old plane from lake
ANCHORAGE - There was nothing particularly historic or valuable about the two-seat float plane that had been sitting in muck at the bottom of an isolated Alaska lake since September 1993.